(From top) A painting at the exhibition, visitors appreciate a sculpture and some paintings. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 17: Paintings, sculptures and various other forms of art are on display at the 34th State Level Exhibition of Fine Art on at Intach gallery. Both young talents and veteran artists have showcased their works here.

Young artists have given a new dimension to the handling of social issues experimenting with a range of shades and ideas. Some of the most fascinating works on display revolve around nature and environment.

Prabhu Dayal Tirkey’s work Nature with me is a romantic depiction of the artist’s communication with nature. The colourful and symbolic images of fish, butterflies and flowers in this work are captivating. Digbijayee Khatua’s painting titled I am Nature has represented himself as a tree with a human silhouette. Pradeepta Kishore Das’ The caged Nature shows plants that are confined inside houses. Sibananda Kar’s Nature is insightful.

Animal life, scenes from villages, ironies of urban development have also been presented in the exhibited works. Some interesting abstract pieces of art include graphic works by Lokanath Pradhan, Srinibas Padhiary, Prasanna Kumar Sahoo and Rashmikanta Patnaik. The award-winning painting by Suryakanta Swain, titled Whispering heads is an intriguing work presenting various moods of a person.

Creative themes in sculptures have also been included in the exhibition that has 122 exhibits. Biswaranjan Kar’s torn sack bag, Manoja Rout’s detailed profile of a human face on stone, Amiya Ranjan Ghadei’s Bhisma depicted by a fibre gas-cylinder, Laxmi Dhar Jena’s eclipse on stone and Ranajit Sahoo’s metal work A desi meat cleaver are some of the laudable works.

Traditional paintings have also been given a touch of freshness with new subjects and style.

Nityanada Sahu’s That Morning may not be displaying intricate pattachitra elements of Odia traditional art but the theme of depicting a village scene with women taking bath and getting ready together near a well, is impressive. Geetarani Swain’s palm leaf etching of the entire Ramayana is imposing.

“Each work displayed here is brilliant. I loved the painting titled A homage to Van Gogh that shows the legendary painter resting in a sunflower field, since the flower was present in most of Van Gogh’s works,” said Subhra, an art student.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated yesterday, will continue till Friday.